The Stuffed Elephant: Symbol of Maternal Loss and Violence in The Divorce

Introduction to the Stuffed Elephant

The stuffed elephant in The Divorce is far more than a child’s toy. It begins as a gift bought by Veronica (Ronnie) Chesson for her missing infant son Dominic. When she finally accepts that Dominic is never coming back, she passes the elephant to Teddy, the son of her lover Jeremy Roth. Later, Jeremy discovers the elephant stabbed with a kitchen knife and smeared with red sauce—a piece of evidence he uses to paint Naomi as dangerous. The toy thus becomes a multivalent symbol: it represents Veronica’s unresolved maternal grief, the violence that threads through the novel, and the way characters weaponize objects to manipulate others.

Below we examine where the elephant appears, how its meaning shifts with each appearance, and what it reveals about the characters and themes. We also provide four study questions to deepen your understanding of this concrete symbol.

Where the Elephant Appears and How Its Meaning Changes

First Appearance: Veronica’s Act of Letting Go

In Chapter 57, Ronnie prepares to meet Teddy for the first time. She retrieves the stuffed elephant she bought for Dominic years ago, hugging it and pressing her nose against its fur. She realizes her birth son is never returning. “And that’s when I decide to give the elephant to Teddy” (chapter 57). At this moment, the elephant symbolizes the hope she once held for Dominic’s return. By giving it away, she performs a painful act of closure, transferring her maternal affection to a new child. The elephant is soft, powdery, and baby-scented—a remnant of lost motherhood.

Second Appearance: A Weapon in the Divorce War

In Chapter 27, Jeremy searches Teddy’s drawer at Naomi’s apartment and finds the elephant with a large kitchen knife wedged in its chest. “My kitchen knife, it would seem,” Naomi notes. Jeremy uses this photograph as evidence in the next mediation (Chapter 29), claiming Naomi is unstable and violent. The elephant, once a gift of love, is now a piece of manipulated evidence. Its meaning shifts to become a tool of gaslighting and a symbol of the accusation that Naomi is a threat to her own son.

Third Appearance: Jeremy’s Calculated Confession

The epilogue (Chapter 74) reveals the truth: Jeremy himself “planted the elephant with the knife stuck inside it in Teddy’s drawer.” He admits feeling bad because he knew how much Teddy loved the elephant. Here the symbol acquires its deepest layer: it is a prop in Jeremy’s long-term plan to frame Naomi, to make her appear unhinged, and ultimately to win full custody so he can eliminate her. The elephant represents not just violence but premeditated cruelty—a toy used as a murder alibi.

Parallel Appearance: The Photograph as a Threat

Later, in Chapter 59, Jeremy shows the same photograph to Ronnie to prove Naomi’s danger. Ronnie thinks, “It’s Dominic’s elephant… And Naomi stuck a knife in it.” She interprets the image as a threat against her own life. The elephant, which was once Ronnie’s gift, now terrifies her. It symbolizes the way Naomi (or, unbeknownst to Ronnie, Jeremy) has corrupted something innocent into a message of violence.

Character Connections

• Veronica (Ronnie) Chesson: The elephant is her emotional anchor to her lost son. Giving it away marks her acceptance of Dominic’s permanent absence. Later, seeing it stabbed fills her with horror—the destruction of her last tangible connection to her baby.

• Teddy Roth: The elephant is a beloved toy. He does not understand its original meaning; to him, it is simply a present from his father’s girlfriend. Its destruction (the stabbing) hurts him, but he moves on quickly (chapter 30). His innocence contrasts with the adult manipulation surrounding the object.

• Naomi Roth: Naomi is framed as the one who stabbed the elephant. She denies it, but the evidence damages her credibility. The elephant becomes the centerpiece of Jeremy’s campaign to paint her as unstable, making it a symbol of how she is victimized by gaslighting.

• Jeremy Roth: Jeremy is the true perpetrator. He plants the stabbed elephant to advance his scheme. For him, the elephant is a tool—expendable in his pursuit of custody and eventual murder of Naomi. It reveals his cold, calculating nature.

• Cora Janzen and Ezra Fletcher: Though not directly connected to the elephant, they work within the legal system to question the evidence. Ezra’s dismissal of the photo in mediation (“This could have been taken anywhere”) shows his role as a rational counterpoint.

Theme Connections

Deception and Manipulation

Jeremy uses the staged elephant to deceive the mediator and the court. He manipulates physical evidence to achieve his goal, demonstrating how objects can be weaponized in domestic warfare.

Motherhood and Protection

The elephant begins as a symbol of a mother’s love (Ronnie for Dominic, then Ronnie for Teddy) and transforms into a symbol of violence against that bond. Both Ronnie and Naomi are mothers who feel protective, yet the elephant is twisted into a threat against Teddy’s safety. The stabbing figuratively attacks the maternal bond.

Identity and Theft

The elephant is stolen from its original meaning. Ronnie’s identity as Dominic’s mother is erased when the gift is transferred and later defiled. Naomi’s identity as a good mother is stolen by Jeremy’s planting of evidence. The elephant embodies the theft of truth.

Obsession and Revenge

Jeremy’s obsessive planning—two years of gaslighting, poisoning, and frame-ups—crystallizes in the elephant incident. He takes a sentimental object and turns it into an instrument of revenge against Naomi. The elephant is a physical manifestation of his obsession.

Marriage and Betrayal

The elephant becomes a silent witness to the collapse of Naomi and Jeremy’s marriage. It moves from the marital home to Naomi’s apartment, then is violated and used as betrayal evidence. It reflects the deeper betrayal of Jeremy’s affair and his intent to kill.

Study Questions (with Answers)

1. How does the meaning of the stuffed elephant change from its first appearance to its final mention in the epilogue?
   Answer: The elephant begins as Veronica’s treasured hope for her missing son Dominic—a symbol of longing and maternal love. When she gives it to Teddy, it becomes a gesture of acceptance and a desire to connect with a new child. After Jeremy stabs it and plants it, the elephant transforms into a weapon of manipulation, falsely incriminating Naomi. In the epilogue, Jeremy admits he used it as part of his murder plot, so the elephant ultimately represents cruelty, deception, and the corruption of innocence for selfish ends.

2. Why is the elephant especially painful for Veronica when she sees the photograph?
   Answer: For Veronica, the elephant is the only material object she has left of Dominic. Seeing it stabbed in the photograph makes her feel that her own son has been violated. She immediately interprets the act as a threat against her own life (“she would do much worse to me”). The violence against the toy mirrors the violence she fears Naomi (or the real perpetrator) would commit against her.

3. What role does the elephant play in the power struggle between Jeremy and Naomi during the custody mediation?
   Answer: Jeremy uses the photograph of the stabbed elephant as “proof” that Naomi is unstable and violent, demanding full custody. It is a central piece of fabricated evidence designed to destroy Naomi’s credibility as a mother. Even though Ezra argues the photo could have been staged, the damage is done—the mediator and Jeremy’s lawyer see Naomi as a danger to Teddy. The elephant becomes the linchpin that tilts the custody battle in Jeremy’s favor.

4. How does the elephant connect to the theme of identity theft in the novel?
   Answer: The elephant’s identity is stolen when it is transformed from a gift of love into a fake crime scene. More broadly, Jeremy steals Naomi’s identity as a loving mother by planting the evidence. Veronica also loses her identity as Dominic’s mother when the elephant is destroyed—the toy that once embodied her maternal role is now a horrific image. The theft of the object’s original meaning parallels how Jeremy steals the truth about himself and frames others.